teslacannon's reviews
212 reviews

Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

How convenient they instantly fell in love at first sight and that all the side characters are devoted to being translators for each other.

There are definitely things that don’t add up but over all it’s nice love story where everything works out, from Jade to her dad.

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I knew this was mostly going to focus on the relationship aspect, but it was slow (and I listen at 2x speed). I appreciated the body horror and even some spiritual and oceanic horror at the end.

I appreciated all the suspicion set in place about the corporation who sent them to the ocean. Companies get away with horrific things all the time, we don’t always see it in the media, and it doesn’t always get to lawsuits. I like that we never find out if what happened to them was orchestrated.

Content Warnings

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

As a mentally ill person, I need to stop reading from perspectives of mentally ill characters lol. It's relatable, but it hurts and becomes tedious to step into that mindset when I generally enjoy reading for the escapism. That said, the characters showed a lot of depth and the narrarator was great. It was obvious the main character couldn't keep her thoughts or feelings together, as there were a lot of short, disjointed sentences, and instances where the character wasn't inside herself at all, or "too inside of herself" (panic attacks). Although this book focuses so much on death, I liked the ending that chose life.

Idol, Burning by Rin Usami

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dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Short read about a delusional teen obsessed with a music star. She clearly is not well, and cannot balance her daily responsibilities, like work or even self-grooming, with her tracking and cataloging of her "oshi". Sure, I'm a part of fandoms, but I've never been dedicated to a famous person or felt they ever impacted my life, much less derailed it. It's sad that her family enables her instead of getting her help with her depression and other OCD-like symptoms.
Mostly though, I found myself envying this girl because as fruitless and harmful as her blind devotion was, at least she found something to live for. I don't have anything in my life that excites me. At least she had a passion, short-lived as it was. Lower rating because that realization bummed me the hell out.

A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I read reviews complaining this book isn’t funny. Anyone who expected “a memoir of psychological cruelty” to be humorous has clearly never lived with an abusive, domineering presence looming over their lives. I listened to the audiobook, and Augusten reads it in a poetic, musical way whenever not speaking dialogue. This book was hard to face at parts, with the rape, mind games, and I especially struggled getting past all of the animal abuse. It starts early and sets the tone. I’ve never read Running with Scissors, but I don’t know that I want to be exposed to more of his trauma filled memories.

Content Warnings